Another adverse effect of traffic noise

Nov 2, 2017

By Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

New research in Denmark shows that people exercise less when they live near noisy roads. The researchers found that for every 10 decibel increase in traffic noise, people were 5% less likely to exercise.

In general, a few simple habits can have a dramatic effect on health and longevity:

Don’t smoke

Eat fruits and vegetables

Maintain a healthy weight, and

Exercise regularly.

Anything that discourages healthy habits–and traffic noise now seems to fall into this category–is bad for health.

And the reason why traffic noise seems to decrease exercise? It isn’t clear. It may be that traffic noise disrupts sleep, so people exposed to the noise just lack the energy to get moving, but whatever the reason this study provides yet another reason why cities must control traffic noise.